She whimpered into his mouth when his fingers explored between her legs. He slipped one finger and then two inside her.
It felt so good she pumped her hips against his hand.
“Are you ready?” he asked thickly, giving her a couple more soft kisses.
“Yes.” She arched up in pleasure and impatience as he stroked her hot, wet channel. “Please.”
He reached over for the condom while she shimmied out of her pants and underwear. Then she helped him with his, reaching out eagerly for his erection when it was finally freed from the fabric.
“Fuck,” he breathed as she stroked him gently. “You’re going to kill me.”
“I’m definitely going to kill you if you don’t hurry up.”
He rolled on the condom and positioned himself between her legs. The fireplace was radiating intense heat that she felt hotly on her bare skin.
To her surprise, as she felt him nudging at her entrance, David leaned down to kiss her again.
She responded, wrapping her arms around his neck, and then arching up instinctively as she felt his hard length start to enter her.
He readjusted a few times as he slid inside her. She felt him so much—so deeply—she couldn’t focus on the kiss, so she turned her head to the side with a jerk and panted.
“Okay?” he asked, his voice sounding as stretched as she felt.
“Yeah. It’s good. So good.” She moved her hips, feeling every inch of his penetration, and moaned in pleasure as her nerve endings shattered with sensations.
When she started to pump her hips up toward his, he responded by beginning to thrust.
Their foreplay had been light and playful, so she was surprised when the sex was neither of those things. Their motion was initially steady and pleasing. They moved together well, falling into a long-remembered rhythm. Rachel bent her legs up around his hips for more leverage, although she was limited because of the lingering ache of her ankle.
He would lean down and kiss her occasionally, like he couldn’t seem to help himself.
She couldn’t pull herself together. Every part of her was out of control. Her heart raced wildly, her lungs gasped for air, her eyes blurred over occasionally as she couldn’t look away from David’s heated, hungry gaze.
Everything felt so good, so right, so pleasurable that she couldn’t help moaning and whimpering out silly sounds.
“David,” she gasped, her back coming off the couch as a jolt of pleasure surprised her. She fell into an urgent, clumsy motion and clawed at the back of his shoulders.
“Rachel,” he grunted in response, his own thrusting intensifying to match hers. Then he kept huffing out her name in time with his rhythm, making all of it even more agonizingly good.
She bit her lip hard as she felt an orgasm tighten. Then she let out her breath, gasped out his name, her body shuddering helplessly with the ripples of intense pleasure.
He made a choked sound and held himself perfectly still as she tried to ride out the tremors of her climax.
Her channel gripped him hard, and he finally let go, his tension releasing in a series of fast, clumsy thrusts.
They both came down together, bodies hot, replete, and tangled together on the couch. She could still hear him breathing her name, and she wanted to always hear him say it that way.
Like she was precious. Like he needed her more than his breath.
His elbows buckled, and he lowered his weight gently onto hers, burying his face in the crook of her neck for a few moments.
She hugged him to her tightly, experiencing a ridiculous swell of pride at having given him this, made him feel so much.
He lifted his head and gazed down on her. “Okay?”
She nodded, her throat aching oddly. “That was really good.”
“Good doesn’t begin to describe it.”
It hadn’t been wild or dirty or particularly creative, but it had been more than that, better than that. The best sex of her life.
She shifted uncomfortably under his weight—trying to ignore a certain rising anxiety. “You should take care of the condom.”
He heaved himself up reluctantly and pulled out of her, taking care with the condom. Then he went to throw it away and wash up.
Feeling chilly again, now that she wasn’t pressed against David’s warm body, she reached down to pull her pajamas back on. She was pulling the sweatshirt over her head when David returned.
She couldn’t help but leer at his naked body—his long flanks, strong muscles, and flat abdomen. He pulled his sweatpants back on but not his shirt or sweatshirt, added another log to the fire, and got back onto the couch with her.
He pulled her into his arms as she covered them both with the blanket.
She nestled against him. In the morning, she would have to deal with reality, but she couldn’t bear to think about it tonight.
Not when everything felt so good, so right, so much like home.
“Rachel,” he murmured, nuzzling her hair.
“Hmm.” Her eyes were closed. The fire was warm and David was warm, and so she was warm again too.
“Rachel.”
“Hmm.”
He didn’t say anything else. Maybe he’d decided she was almost asleep so conversation was pretty much pointless.
Then she was asleep. So she wouldn’t have heard if he’d said anything else.
***
Rachel woke up a few hours later, feeling deliciously warm and a little cramped.
She blinked, trying to orient herself. The room was dark except for the light of the fire, which had died down some.
David must have gotten up some time while she slept to stoke it and add another log, or it would have died down a lot more.
Now David was beside her on the couch. Or, more accurately, he was behind her.
She was lying on her side, facing the fire, and he was spooning her, his arms wrapped around her, holding her against him.
She shifted slightly and heard him clear his throat. She glanced over her shoulder to see that his eyes were open.
“Hi.” She didn’t know what else to say.
It was still dark outside, although it sounded like the ice had stopped. There were still a few hours until dawn.
She didn’t have to wake up to the real world yet.
“Hi,” he replied, a smile in his voice. “How’s your ankle?”
“It’s fine.” It was still hurting, but not as badly as it had earlier. She twisted it experimentally and discovered she had slightly better range of motion.
She sighed and nestled back more snugly against his heat. In doing so, she felt something poking into her butt.
“Uh,” she said, glancing back. “What are you doing with that?”
“Nothing at the moment.”
She wiggled her ass against his erection and smiled when she heard him groan in response.
“Was that an invitation?” he asked huskily.
“Not really,” she admitted. “I’m pretty comfortable. I’m not sure I want to take my clothes off again.”
It was the truth. She felt warm and cozy and not really excited about shedding her pajamas.
He rolled over onto his back, turning her over until she was sprawled on top of him. He eased her head down so he could kiss her. “I’m sure we can work around your pajamas, if we have to.”
She laughed and returned his kiss, sliding her fingers into his thick hair.
They kissed for a long time, leisurely, in a way that thrilled Rachel, even without the intensity of arousal she’d experienced before.
Her body hummed pleasantly but didn’t feel particularly urgent or needy.
She still didn’t want to get naked again.
She was stroking his cheek as they kissed, enjoying the scratchy sound and feel of his bristles against her skin, when she felt him rocking his pelvis up into her weight.
He was really hard. He was a lot farther gone than she was.
The knowledge gave her a different kind of thrill.
Feeling inspired, she pulled away from his mouth and kissed her way down his bare chest. She liked the lean muscles and the light sprinkling of dark hair and the way his flat belly tapered down to his sweats.
When she reached the fabric, she hooked her fingers around the waistband and pulled his pants down, carefully maneuvering around the prominent obstacle of his erection.
“I thought you didn’t want to take your clothes off,” he said, that same smile still in his voice despite how hoarse it was.
“I’m not planning to take my clothes off.” She took his hard flesh in both hands.
In answer to the question developing on his face, she leaned down and licked a line up his shaft.
He jerked, in surprise or pleasure or both.
“Rachel,” he breathed, reaching down for her and burying his fingers in her messy hair.
She smiled, feeling oddly pleased and possessive. Then she wrapped her mouth around him and hollowed out her cheeks.
He stifled a groan, tightening his hands in her hair. “Rachel, you don’t have to—”
His words broke off as she applied more suction. He released another delicious, breathless sound.
She knew he was liking it. She knew his body was responding to her attempts to please him. A rush of excitement and pride overwhelmed her.
She held the base of his erection in one hand and used her mouth as skillfully as she could. She wasn’t particularly expert at this activity, but it wasn’t her first time. To judge from his responses, she must have been doing a pretty good job.
He’d reached up to grip the cushion of the couch with one hand, his fingers fisting into the fabric. With his other hand he gently guided the motion of her head, helping her find the rhythm he wanted.
As the muscles of his thighs and belly tightened, he started to lose some of his control. His hips rocked up toward her mouth in little thrusts, as if he couldn’t quite hold them still. Since the motion wasn’t pushing or demanding—he wasn’t trying to fuck her throat—she didn’t get nervous.
He kept choking out her name, and she loved the way it sounded. Loved that it got thicker, more breathless as she worked him up toward climax.
She rearranged her body and moved the hand she’d been using to grip his thigh until she could delicately stroke his sac.
He clamped down on the cushion with one hand and fisted the other in her hair.
She knew he was about to come. Her blood coursed through her veins so wildly it caused a roaring in her ears.
She sucked hard around his thick flesh and massaged his balls a little more firmly.
He came with a muffled exclamation, his back arching up from the couch as he let go.
She sucked and stroked him through the waves of his release, and she wiped her mouth with a smile as she finally straightened up.
His body had gone completely limp, lying in a flushed, replete sprawl on the flannel sheet.
She’d never seen him like this before, and she couldn’t believe she had done it to him.
He found the energy to pull her down on top of him, and she stretched and wriggled against his big body.
“Thank you,” he said, nuzzling her hair again, like he couldn’t quite find the focus to kiss.
“You’re welcome.” As she rubbed herself against him, she realized she was turned on more than she’d realized, from nothing more than pleasuring him that way. It still wasn’t too intense, though, so it didn’t spoil her satisfaction.
After a few minutes, she felt his breathing even out, and one of his hands started caressing her lower back and bottom.
Since she took this as a sign that he’d recovered from his release, she lifted her head and grinned down at him. “See. I didn’t have to take off my clothes.”
He huffed out a laugh and tightened his arms around her in a hug.
“Are you okay?” he asked when he loosened his arms.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? Because I’m happy to—”
“I told you I didn’t want to take off my—”
“Do you really think I’m so uncreative that I can’t find a way to satisfy you without taking off your clothes?” He actually sounded vaguely insulted.
“Well, I’m not sure—” She broke off with a quick inhalation when she felt his hand dip under her waistband and slide down between her legs.
She was wet again, and he would be fully aware of that fact when he…
“Oh God!” she cried, clinging to his shoulders as he started to stroke her with his fingers.
It didn’t take long for his skillful hand to bring her to climax—and she gasped and shook on top of him as the pleasure tightened and released deliciously.
“Oh, that was good,” she groaned as her body relaxed afterwards. “You’re certainly very handy.”
He choked on a laugh at her bad joke and pulled her up higher so he could kiss her.
He kept kissing her. And each kiss felt like a caress.
“You’re so incredible, Rachel,” he murmured between the kisses. “So sweet, so beautiful, so generous, so brave.”
Emotion overwhelmed her, more powerful than her physical release. She wanted so much to hear the words. Wanted so much to believe them.
But they were dangerous. Even before dawn, this was dangerous.
She snorted in an attempt to distract herself. “Brave? Despite how impressive your…attributes are, it didn’t take that much courage for me to—”
He silenced her with another kiss, this one longer, lingering, breathtaking. “You’re the bravest person I know, Rachel. You always have been.”
She didn’t understand why he would think that. She didn’t know why he seemed to believe it.
She didn’t understand any of this, and she desperately didn’t want it to end.
If it went on any longer, though, she would never recover from it.
Trying to find a compromise with herself—ending the really dangerous part but not ending the night entirely—she settled into his embrace, ducking her head so he couldn’t kiss her anymore. ”Okay. After that courageous effort, I’m tired again.”
He reached down and pulled the blanket over both of them. She felt him kiss her hair, and he didn’t say anything else.
Five
Rachel woke up to a sudden chorus of clicking and beeping.
The power had come back on.
She blinked several times, trying to orient herself to the living room, which was light from the emerging sunlight through the bay window and the lamp that had been left on across the room.
She was still on the couch. Still curled up in the bend of David’s body. His arms were still wrapped around her.
Despite the fact that her ankle ached, her head was a little blurry, and one arm had lost circulation from being trapped beneath her body, she felt at home there. She didn’t want to move.
She felt David shifting behind her, and she knew he had awakened too.
“Good morning,” he said, his voice thick from sleep. He nuzzled her neck, strangely intimate. “How do you feel?”
“Okay.” She made herself pull out of his arms and sit up. She really needed to clear her head. “My ankle is still sore, but I’m sure it will be fine.”
She felt him watching her as she stretched and blinked, and it made her decidedly nervous.
What the hell was he thinking? What the hell was she thinking? How could she have done this to herself again?
She wasn’t seventeen anymore, but she was evidently just as stupid with her heart.
“I guess we should get up,” she said at last, since someone needed to say something. “If it’s warmed up the way they were forecasting, then the roads might be clear and Mom and Brad will be coming out.”
She almost choked at the thought of her mother and brother finding her and David like this, knowing what she’d done last night.
That gave her enough incentive to stand up. She wobbled a bit, since her ankle was sorer than she’d expected.
David got up immediately, but she was already stable again when he put a supporting arm around her.
“I’m fine.” She tried not to jerk away from his touch in an automatic defensive instinct. “Just took a minute to get my ankle to work.”
“You should try to stay off it as much as you can for the next few days.”
For a brief moment, she had a crystal-clear glimpse of a future with David. She could see herself surrounded by his understated kindness, his dry laughter, his absolute commitment to taking care of her. Even his obnoxious bossiness.
And she wanted it. She wanted it desperately.
Exactly as she’d wanted it when she was seventeen.
She sucked in a shaky breath and slipped out of the protection of his arm. “I’m going to take a shower. You’re welcome to use the shower in Brad’s old room if you want.”
She limped out to the hallway, hiding her face behind her hair as much as she could so he wouldn’t get a clear glimpse of her expression.
A few years ago, her grandfather had installed a new tankless water heater for the house, so the water was almost immediately warm when she turned on the shower.
She didn’t start to cry until she stepped under the spray.
As she scrubbed David off her body, she sobbed as quietly as she could. It was exactly like it had been before. A night full of passion, intimacy, even laughter, followed by David’s being as quiet and considerate as he’d been just now.
The day after her first time with him she’d been ecstatic. She hadn’t been able to stop giggling and hugging herself. She’d dreamed a lot of silly dreams about a wedding, a family, a life with David.
She hadn’t suspected for even a second that he would never call her again. That when she went over to his house, nervous and bewildered after two days of no contact despite several attempts to call and email him, he wouldn’t answer the door. That when she ran into him at her grandfather’s dealership a few days later as he’d been dropping off Brad, David would act like he hadn’t even seen her.
Her heart wasn’t going to be able to survive it again.
At least she didn’t still live in this town. She wouldn’t have to see him everywhere she went, hear his name mentioned every day.
She could escape back to her little apartment and an anonymous city that didn’t know her, that wouldn’t break her heart.
Stranded: A Winter Romance Duet Page 23